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Love of literature is a quality that characterizes people that try to exemplify their cultured nature. Within books we find a hidden collective memory, history and the soul of a culture. The number of readers in Spain is not especially high, particularly among young people who are more addicted to the screens of their electronic "pets".

To inculcate a love for books, different governments that have come and gone over the last 40 years have tried to raise reading awareness by way of insertion. This has meant that secondary school studies (and to a lesser extent, primary school studies) have included different literary works that have been considered obligatory.

It should not be any surprise that one of the most notable works, if not the most important found in the Spanish language is The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quijote of La Mancha or, simply, Don Quijote. This novel by Miguel de Cervantes is considered to be the first modern novel in the history of Literature, with a capital L, to ever be written in any language.

Until now, in some Spanish speaking countries, Don Quijoteis required reading, but, curiously, in Spain it hasn't always been. The problem with the work of Cervantes is the way he structured the story; full of digressions and parallel stories which in the time of don Miguel was very common structure. But today, this type of structure can be very difficult to read and it demands a high level of concentration. For this reason the Spanish Royal Academy made the decision long ago to create a version for young people while also printing a more authentic edition which would maintain all of the linguistic characteristics, language and forms of the original work. The last "authentic" edition was written in 2004 by Francisco Rico.

Now, finally, there is a new edition for young people and the person responsible for writing it is one of the youngest members of the academy. This successful writer, recognized for his skill with the language and captivating style is none other than Arturo Pérez Reverte. In his school version of Don Quijote, Pérez Reverte has eliminated the parallel stories, while in the style of Cervantes he has made logical connections in the story to give coherence and unity to the text. Reverte has also followed the most recent grammatical rules established by the Royal Academy in 2010 as well as substituting some archaic vocabulary for other words that are more understandable for the audience this edition is destined for.

There is another element that is esthetically interesting: in the Principe de Ibarra edition of Don Quijote published by the Royal Academy in 1780, there was a series of illustrations that were included in the book. In this new version for young people, the Academy has decided to include these original prints in this new edition. Also included in this edition is a print made by young Francisco de Goya that, surprisingly, never appeared in the Ibarra edition.

This new edition by Pérez Reverte is very promising and we hope that with all of the work done by the Royal Academy and Pérez Reverte have put into bringing this classic into the 21st century, they will achieve a well earned success. The price for this new edition is more than fair, costing only €10,85 for the paperback and €6,95 for the eBook.

In the book section of the newspaper El Pais, a high school student named Rodrigo said: "Don Quijote is a very complex character that you can associate his willingness to fight for the disadvantaged to a specific group today—and that can be the Movimiento 15-M (anti-austerity movement)." He also went on to say that "If I had to recommend the book to a friend, I would say 'A book like Don Quixote helps us to feel free and to not worry about what people think.' "

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